Explosion of the Heart
by enigmaticnotion
Summary: What would happen if Castle and Beckett are in the wrong place at the wrong time and find themselves in the middle of an explosive situation.
1. Shattered Haven

**This is my first attempt at pros writing and my very first Fic so I hope it holds up to expectation. I do not own any characters affiliated with ABC's hit show, Castle.**

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Shattered Haven

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**Tuesday 9 pm**

At first he couldn't tell if the heat was surrounding him or just inside of him. Smoke and debris was swirling around him, clogging every molecule of air that he attempted to inhale. It was pitch black. _Your eyes aren't open, dumb ass. Open your eyes!_ With an obscene amount of effort, he finally slit his eyes open enough to survey the scene that he lay desperately crumpled in. The bullpen that had once been a safe haven of flirtatious endeavors was now splattered around his mangled body. A piece of Beckett's desk was pinning his right leg and something was protruding from his thigh. His arms were both free and relatively unharmed, but they seemed to be reaching for something.

He was completely numb until the extent of his injuries started to register in his brain. The sudden sear of abnormal pain that swirled its way through every nerve in his body knocked the breath back out of him as he tried to regain control of his senses. The stench of consuming flames and fresh blood was slowly torturing its way up his nostrils and shifting his senses into overdrive. _What happened? How long have I been out? _It was eerily silently except for the obnoxiously incessant ringing that reverberated through his ears. Too silent.

"Ka-agghh!"

His first attempt at shouting her name was lost in a gargle of rampant pain that shot up through his abdomen. He stubbornly swallowed back the ripping pain that was now circling through every inch of his body and attempted to call out for her again, this time anticipating the throbbing repercussion.

"Kate!?" he managed to choke out before the sear of reality shoved him back into a mind numbing shock.

No answer. He then realized what his arms had been attempting to protect as he was thrown helplessly to the ground. Kate. She couldn't be that far from him but there was a ceiling beam, _that can't be good,_ between him and whatever, whoever, was on the other side. Sucking in every ounce of unbearable agony and kicking his adrenaline into gear, Castle latched onto the beam and heaved himself into a sitting position to get a better view. _No! Oh no! No…this can't be happening. _His eyes darted around the scene before him as he tried to make sense of it and remember to breath. Kate Beckett was face down and not moving.

Her entrancing brown hair was splayed around her head in a mangled mess and thick with blood. Her left arm was completely twisted and flat on the ground. A bookshelf had missed her by a foot and was propped up by a pile of shattered furniture inches from her head. He couldn't tell if she was breathing but she certainly wasn't moving or responding.

* * *

**Monday 10 am**

Captain Montgomery thought himself a fair decent man. He prided himself in how hard he worked to become Captain. He also understood that detectives could sometimes be very fragile despite the hard exterior they all shrugged on like a jacket while on the job. It was extra protection from the world of criminals and murderers that they submersed themselves in on a daily basis. But his detectives were human and that exterior could be snatched from them and shattered in the blink of an eye. Sometimes the damage was just beyond repair and they were no longer stable enough to do their job without bias inflicting their judgments. Sometimes they could no longer handle being a detective.

He only personally knew one detective whose life had been shattered in such a manner, but despite the odds, was able to pick up the pieces and become one of the best detectives in his district. Kate Beckett was one of the strongest people he knew. One of the smartest too. Unfortunately, Detective Beth O'Neil was not Kate Beckett. Beth's husband and two small sons had recently been fatal victims of a misplaced car bomb. The intended target had parked in the wrong spot and the hit man didn't get the updated location in time. Unfortunately for Mike O'neil and his sons, the mark had the same make and model as him and the hit man didn't notice the different license plate until it was too late. Beckett and her boys tracked down the hit man and put him behind bars for life, but he refused to talk so the contractor still remained at large and they were running out of leads.

Montgomery had given her leave to grieve and put the shambles of her life in order but she was making no progress. This wouldn't have been a problem if Beth had stayed on leave. She showed up that morning "ready" to work and had already managed to lose her head in two interrogations and was later found hiding in the corner of the break room curled up in the fetal position hyperventilating. He had no other option but to retract her badge and gun indefinitely unless she agreed to leave quietly until he decided she was ready. He hated that he had to bring it this far, but something had to be done before someone else got hurt. He hoped she would take his offer to temporarily leave quietly but deep down he knew it would come to this. Sometimes an explosion of the heart leaves everyone in its wake vulnerable beyond the point of mending.

There was a soft rap on the door as it slowly opened revealing detective O'neil sheepishly lingering in the doorway. Her small muscular frame had wilted to a ghost of what she once was. Her brown eyes had sunken in and were bloodshot from the endless stream of tears that she should have run out of by now. And her dirty blond hair was thrown up into a disheveled ponytail instead of the usual tidy bun.

"Come in, detective. I was just finishing up some paperwork. Have a seat, we need to talk."

Beth sauntered in trying to hold her chin up high as her shoulders slumped under the weight of her grief. She was avoiding eye contact with the Captain because any suggestion of condolences would set her into another fit of waterworks and she had enough embarrassment for one day. She sank into the nearest chair and sat up feigning resilience. Her eyes slowly wandered around the Captains office, pausing on the sunlight that was breaking through the blinds as if it were mocking her, and finally meeting the brown caring eyes that were patiently waiting for her attention.

"How are you holding up, O'neil? I heard you had a bit of a rough day."

Her eyes immediately fell to her lap as her fake resilience faltered. All the words she wanted to say to make him understand were stuck in her throat and her heart was plummeting with every failed attempt at speech. Why did he have to bring that up? Why couldn't he just let her move on?

"I'm fine, boss. I'm sorry about that earlier. I just had a momentary slip up. It wont happen again."

"No. It won't."

The captain's words jolted her heart into overdrive and the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Sir?"

"Beth, you are a great detective, and I have been proud to have you on my force these past 5 years, but you are obviously not ready to come back yet. I don't care how ready you think you are. You are still being blinded by the tragedy in your own life, and no one blames you for that. No one here thinks less of you because you need more time. But, Beth, you need to take that time. If you don't take my orders and stay home until I clear you for duty again I'm going to have to ask for your badge and gun."

Beth didn't know how to respond. She couldn't go back home. She no longer had a home. She had an empty house full of taunting memories. This job was all she had left. The only family she had left. Montgomery didn't get it; he didn't understand that she needed to be here because the alternative was unthinkable.

"Sir, I…I need this. I'm ok. I promise I got it all out of my system. Please don't make me go back there. I can't handle this alone."

The tears that she had been desperately trying to dam were now silently rolling down her rosy cheeks. Montgomery could feel the tension that lingered in the space between them. She wasn't going to make this easy. He leaned forward in his seat and folded his hands in front of him.

"Beth, I'm going to have to ask for your badge and gun. As of now you are no longer a detective of the 12th precinct. I'm really sorry it has come to this but I have no other choice."

Pleading desperation strangled the last bit of dignity wavering in her voice.

"You do have a choice! Just give me one more chance! I have nothing else. This precinct is the only part of me that is still alive."

As those last words fell out of Beth O'neil's mouth the truth of the statement and the fact that she now no longer even had that ripped a new hole in her shattered heart. Her hands were shaking with an equal mixture of fear and anger as she slowly placed her badge and gun on the desk before Captain Montgomery. She was on the verge of another massive breakdown and she knew it. Before Montgomery could say another word she pivoted and slipped out the door at a half sprint.

* * *

**Tuesday 9:20 pm**

Rick knew that he needed to somehow get to Kate to wake her up, _she can't be dead, she's not allowed to be dead. _His leg was still pinned under her upturned desk and he wasn't sure if it was completely broken. The foreign object that was sticking in his right thigh hurt like a bitch, but he knew that if he pulled it out he would just bleed more and he was already loosing too much blood. He grabbed hold of his pants and slowly pulled himself forward toward his pinned leg. This movement shot a ricocheting pain up through his chest that he tried to ignore. _Focus, Rick. Kate needs you. You can't quit now because of a little pain._ Once he was close enough, he grabbed a bar from the pile of wreckage next to him and started prying the desk off of him. Each attempted lift took everything out of him and he was slowly starting to fade out. Everything around him was getting fuzzy and his eyelids weighed a ton. With one final adrenaline induced heave he lifted the desk just enough to yank his leg out before it crashed back to the ground.

He took one last breath before the exertion took hold of his body and blackness started to surround him. Fighting off the black, Rick turned back towards Kate and started crawling over the beam. He hoisted his torso up on it and then reached back to pull his leg over but his body was going into shock. He couldn't fight his eyelids anymore and they cascaded down over his exhausted blue eyes. Everything went white and images of Alexis, his mother, and Kate started to swirl around him as he tried to reach out and hold them tight.

"It will be ok. I'm here. I'll protect you." He softly murmured as he was pulled back into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

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**Mid Terms are upon me so the next chapter might not be up until next week. Stay tuned!**


	2. Sometimes You Have to Drown

**Sorry for the delay. It took me a little while to figure out the entire plot and pass my Mid Terms haha. Hopefully the upcoming chapters will be coming a bit quicker...but I make no promises :)**

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Sometimes You Have to Drown

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**Monday 10:15 am**

"Have you ever used your handcuffs for something other then arresting people?"

Rick had snuck up right behind Beckett while she was entranced in her murder board and tossed his smarmy question over her shoulder with as much sincerity as he could muster. Beckett hadn't noticed him until his offensive, yet charming, question breezed past her ear and she jumped just enough to brush up against him. She could hear the smile the breached his face as she stumbled for a Beckett response. _Why does he have to get that close? I am supposed to be offended right now and not slightly turned on. Focus, Becket. Focus! _When she failed to immediately reciprocate his banter, Castle decided to push his luck.

"It's a pure Nikki Heat question…unless…"

Before he could finish that thought, Kate whipped around and held her position inches from him with a taunting brow raised to match her smirk. Her reaction caught him off guard and the proximity of her body caused castle to choke down the rest of his sentence. Holding his stupefied gaze she bated him.

"Are you sure you want to know, Castle? Cause we could always take the rest of the day off and play good cop, bad cop…Or…you could go take a cold shower and let me get back to work."

With that she slinked by him and headed for the break room for a caffeine fix to refocus her mind. After he caught his breath and thought about some dead puppies, Castle sauntered after her. Kate seemed to be lost in the steam that was escaping her fresh mug of coffee and Castle recognized that tortured wrinkle in her brow. He softly leaned on the counter next to her and his eyes lingered on her zoned out face while he tried to find the right words. _Simple would be best. She likes simple. _

"Hey, you ok? I know this case must be hard on you…" His words trailed off as Kate snapped from her reverie and gave him her best poker face.

"I'm fine, Castle."

Before he could utter another word of concern, she brushed past him and returned to her scrupulous post in front of the murder board. Castle expelled a sigh of defeat as his eyes magnetically followed before putting one foot in front of the other. _Why can't she just let me in? _

* * *

**Monday 10:20 am**

Beth stood on her porch staring at the solid oak door that used to be the threshold to her home. Now it just closed in useless memories. A hollow breeze whisked her cheeks and stuck to the streams of pain that had made their final descent. The chill lingered and numbness swept her body as her mind effortlessly went blank. Her hand was on the knob but she couldn't bring herself to turn it, as if it were a knife imbedded deep in her heart. Each turn wrenched it in deeper mercilessly bringing on waves of torment that crashed down on her fragile soul. She glanced down at her left hand resting on the offending doorknob and her eyes automatically sunk to the ring that was helplessly clinging for dear life. An empty promise. The longer she stared at it, the more she hated it and everything it stood for. The gold and diamonds started to burn and she couldn't rip it off her finger fast enough. With an unsatisfactory clink, it left her hand and ricocheted off the door as her heart finally burst open and any last drip of emotion poured out of her. Her knees crumbled from beneath her while her fists pounded the door. A whisper escaped between the sobs.

"Till death do us part wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to leave me. I'm not supposed to be here alone…"

She sank to the floor and curled herself in a ball tightly holding her knees to her chest, attempting to hold herself together as her life melted around her.

* * *

**Monday 10:25 am**

"There has to be something here that leads us to who hired Henderson."

"You couldn't wile it out of him, Beckett?"

Beckett pealed her eyes away from the board just long enough to kill any last smart remark that was circling through Castles head before he could dig himself a deeper hole. Castle took the non-verbal cue and squared himself to the board as he leaned back and made himself comfortable obnoxiously close to Beckett.

"Well, if Henderson rigged the wrong car, then where was the intended car?"

Just as Castle was about to get lost in his own imagination with his new idea, Beckett caught his immediate attention by accidentally putting her hand on his thigh to push her self off the desk for a closer look. Her hand froze in place when she realized what she had done and Castles frozen face melted into a smirk. His crystal blue eyes suggestively peered at Beckett struggling to compose herself and pretend that didn't just happen. Just as her eyes sheepishly met his, he saw something on the board behind her and bounced up off the desk towards a picture of the crime scene.

"What?" _Friggen A.D.D. _

"Look!"

Castle jabbed his finger at the bottom right hand corner of the crime scene picture.

"So?"

Beckett squinted her eyes and leaned in for a better view, completely unaware that she was once again sharing personal space with Castle.

"It's the same car, but with a different license plate!" Castle proudly exclaimed.

"The intended victim's? CSU never bothered to check the other cars in the area because they didn't know the wrong car had been set off."

"Maybe we should go make a visit to Lexus owner number two?" Castle suggested, the idea of another adventure clinging to the upturned corners of his lips.

Beckett pretended not to be amused at his excitement and turned to face him with an eye roll not realizing how close she had wormed in to see the picture. _Shit. How did we end up this close again? Why is he staring at me like that? …Why am I staring at him like that…? Look away, Kate!_

"You guys need a minute?"

Esposito's question knocked Beckett from her lingering trance and she spun towards him armed with a death glare. Castle's chuckle at her sudden movement sent chills down her spine and Ryan's stifled giggle sent her over the edge.

"Esposito, I need you and Ryan to run this license plate and track down the owner. We need to have a little chat with them." She barked, squandering any amusement that was still fleeting across his face.

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**Tuesday 9 pm**

Kate could feel everything and nothing. A wrenching pressure was consuming her left arm and reverberating up through her head into a fiercely blinding throb. But her focus was on a deeper internal pain that was slicing open wounds she had taken years to mend. She was sinking deeper and deeper into her subconscious unaware of her surroundings; helplessly drowning under endless waves of turmoil.

_The precinct was immaculate. There was a blinding light filling the room shimmering off every surface it could find. The desks were all cleared off and the murder board was wiped clean as if it had never had the blood red evidence of crime smeared across its face. Kate glanced over to her desk and immediately the pieces of her heart rattled inside her. Her shoes echoed through the hollow bullpen as they struck the floor. _

"_Mom?!"_

_Her mother was leaning against the front of her desk. She was just as Kate last saw her but with an ethereal glimmer that made Kate afraid to touch her. A smile danced across Johanna's perfect face and Kate couldn't help but reciprocate it. _

"_Hello, Katie." _

"_What…where is this? Am I dead?"_

_Panic started to spread through Kate's body at the realization that this was not a normal dream. She grabbed at her chest to feel her heart beat and was soothed by a faint pitter-patter as it pulsed what little life was left in her. _

"_No, sweetie, you're not dead. You still have a choice. But you have to open your eyes; they've been close for so long. You need to let go. Let go of it all. You don't have to do this alone anymore, Katie."_

_A warm sensation caressed Kate's face as her mother softly placed a reassuring hand on her cheek. Immediately Kate tried to put her hand over her mothers, but Johanna faded into thin air leaving Kate alone once again. Her face crashed into the hand hovering inches from her cheek as her other hand came up to meet it. Every repressed tear was pouring out of her as she crashed to the floor from exhaustion. _

_A faint all-too-familiar voice echoed through the empty air._

"_Open your eyes, Kate."_

Those four simple words pulled Kate from her misery and whipped her back into reality. She could feel the tug of consciousness begging her to return. The aroma of ash and blood wafted around her. And another voice broke through the walls of her subconscious. A choke of the sweet voice that was endlessly filling her ears was saying her name. He was there. But she couldn't see him…because her eyes weren't open. Her mother's words finally started to seep in and she knew what she had to do. But she didn't know how. His voice swept through the air around her again; clinging to the tears she has shed.

"It will be ok. I'm here. I'll protect you."

The whisper lingered and she could feel his breath on her neck. His body close to hers. His grin erasing her fears.

"Castle."

Kate's eyes fluttered to life as a fresh tsunami of raw agony crashed down over her. Kate filled her lungs with polluted air struggling to stay afloat before she realized her surroundings. Pieces of the bullpen were scattered around and above her. Her haven was demolished…but she didn't need it anymore. Her face was resting in a shallow pool of blood that was streaming from a wound on her head. Rick was nowhere to be seen and the silence was shattering. She lifted her heavy head and put every effort she had into rolling on to her right side, cradling her mangled left arm on her chest. As soon as she brought her head around she saw his bent frame crumbled over a ceiling beam that had fallen. No! After a few relentless seconds she saw his chest rise and fall reassuring her that he was alive, but he wasn't moving. She dragged herself out from under the bookcase making sure all her other limbs worked accordingly in the process. Her heartbeat was resounding in her head and she could feel the warm trickle of blood making its way down her cheek where her mother's hand had been moments before. She was losing strength as a haze engulfed her but she was determined. She crawled to the beam that Castle was draped over and pulled herself up to his level with her good arm. A breath escaped his nose and traced across her hand sending her heart into unanticipated excitement. Her head was getting heavier and heavier and she was having a hard time keeping it up but she had to get over to Ricks side and get him to regain consciousness. I'm not losing you, not like this. She swung her leg up over the beam and the movement threw her equilibrium off balance causing her to plummet over the beam and onto Castle knocking him backwards and smashing his head back against the ground. The warmth of his body beneath her was the last thing she felt.


	3. Before You Can Swim

…Before you can swim

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**Monday 10:35 am**

"Yo, we got a name on that plate." Esposito announced, as he appeared in front of Beckett's desk.

"It belongs to a Jim Evans. Stockbroker who lives in the Upper East Side." Ryan piped up over his partners shoulder.

Beckett immediately stood up and shrugged on her jacket.

"Text me the address. Castle and I are going to go see if Mr. Evans knows anything. You two dig up any other info on him that you can. If there is any connection here, we need to find it."

* * *

The elevator doors of Mr. Evans' building sprang open, inviting Beckett and Castle into its intimate enclosure. Beckett marched in and leaned against the back wall with Castle following her lead. Castle relaxed and rested his hands on the rail behind them not so accidentally brushing his fingers against hers. Beckett immediately noticed but surprisingly didn't shift her hand away from him. Her attention seemed to be focused elsewhere and Castle, once again, found himself trying to penetrate the walls of her mind with his yearning eyes. Knowing better then to attempt deciphering whatever was going through Beckett's head, he decided to do what he did best and lighten the mood.

"You know, if you keep doing that with your face it's going to freeze like that…and as cute as the little furrow in your eyebrows is, it might not be conducive to striking fear in the hearts of bad guys."

As Castles words found their way into Beckett's cluttered mind she snapped out of her thoughts and folder her arms across her chest. He immediately missed the infinitesimal warmth of her hand against his but was relieved by the hidden smile in her eye roll that she cast in his direction.

The moment was lost in the piercing ding of the doors as they sprang open. Beckett's face automatically sank back behind the mask of ambiguity that she wore so often as another layer of protection.

"You coming?"

Castle watched as Kate disappeared and Detective Beckett resumed control. A ponderous smile twitched on his face as an impatient Beckett held back the door from closing the space between them.

"Always."

"I was afraid of that…"

* * *

Beckett authoritatively rapped her hand on the door and patiently waited for an answer. Within seconds the door gracefully swung open.

"How can I help you?"

A quant woman in a standard maids outfit stood between Beckett and the Evans foyer.

"Detective Beckett, NYPD"

Beckett flashed her badge and a habitual half smile before continuing.

"We need to speak with Jim Evans, is he home?"

"Sure, I will go get him for you. Make yourself comfortable in the living room."

She gestured towards the couch in the other room before heading in the opposite direction to inform her boss of his company.

Moments later, a tall dark haired man buttoned up in a business suit came waltzing in greeting them with curious smile as he extended his hand for introduction. A sheepish woman that looked like she fell out of Vanity Fair followed behind him and perched on the arm of the nearest chair.

"Hi, I'm Jim Evans, and this is my wife, Sheila. How can I be of assistance?"

"Hello, Mr. Evans, I'm Detective Beckett and this is Rick Castle…"

"The mystery writer!?"

"…Yes, he consults."

She paused and gave Castle a warning look to wipe the goofy grin off his face that always appeared when someone recognized him. He got a kick out of being called a consultant and a mystery writer all in one sentence. Two of his favorite things to be and both recently seemed to be circling around his favorite person to be with.

"Mr. Evans, we were hoping to ask you a few questions about your car. More specifically, where it was parked last Wednesday around 2 pm."

"My car?"

Jim Evans slowly sank down in the chair that his wife was perched on as he searched for any inclination what his car being parked anywhere had to do with anything involving the NYPD.

"Wait, was that the day of the explosion? I remember that. I was in my office when it went off so I didn't see anything, but I heard that a car had been blown up outside my building."

"What does this have to do with _my_ car?"

"Sir, do you know anyone that would want you dead?"

Evans face contorted with Beckett's blunt question and his wife's sheepish demeanor was replaced with concern.

"Me? Are…are you trying to say that bomb was meant for me?"

"It is mere speculation at this point, we are just trying to tie up any lose ends."

Beckett was about to stand up when Castle interjected.

"Did you, by chance, know Mike O'Neil?"

"No, that name doesn't sound familiar. Was he the one who…did he die in the explosion?"

Beckett leaned forward cutting off Castles response.

"Yes, and we believe he had the same make and model car as you. So it is possible that he may not have been the intended target. Until this investigation is closed, you might want to think about hiring some security and being careful about who you trust."

Jim struggled to comprehend everything Beckett had just thrown out in the open and shifted his gaze to his wife who was still silent and carefully holding her composure as if it would shatter should she move the slightest bit.

"Well, thank you for your time. If you think of anything, give me a call."

Taking Beckett's cue, Castle followed her out of the apartment giddy to start spilling his twisted theories.

They soon enough found themselves once again in the tight space of the elevator, both trying to pretend that they didn't enjoy it.

"I don't trust her."

"You don't trust who, Castle"

Excitement took over Castle the second Beckett hinted interest in his speculation and without thinking he swiftly turned in her direction leaving just inches of tensioned space between them. Beckett held her ground and stared at him with an entertaining grimace.

"The misses. Something just seemed off about her."

"Castle, why do you always think the wife did it?"

"Have you met my exes!?"

"Right, Castle, I'm sure it was all their fault."

With every slip of banter, Rick and Kate had inadvertently inched forward to the point that they were nearly touching.

"I repeat. Have you met them?"

"If they were so bad then why did you marry them?"

"I guess it just seemed like the thing to do. If only I had known then what I know now."

Their noses were now in dangerous proximity.

"Oh yea? And what's that, Castle?"

Before Castle could conjure up a charming reply, the elevator doors popped opened exposing them to reality and pulling them from their never ending game of cat and mouse. Castle took the opportunity to flash a mischievous smile and duck out without answering the question leaving Beckett on her toes playfully glaring in his direction.

* * *

**Monday 7:30 pm**

The sun was gracefully falling behind the hills casting a soft glow on Beth's motionless body. She had cried her last tear hours ago and her body was nothing but a hollow shell holding itself together. Her eyes were fixated on the threshold that she was curled up in front of but her mind was lost deep in her bittersweet memories. Flashes of her sons' innocent giggles echoed through her thoughts as images of her husband lingered just out of reach.

Before she knew what she was doing, Beth had whisked herself off the ground and burst through the front door. She needed to be near them, to see them, to feel them. She needed to know it wasn't all a lie.

The overbearing silence that filled the house where laughter once carelessly tumbled brought Beth to a halt. Framed pictures hung on the wall like skeletons of bliss stripped of their innocence and tarnished with truth; truth that those smiles would never be seen again, those hearts would never beat again, and those souls no longer existed in this world. She escaped up the stairs and slid into her sons' room as if they were in there sleeping and she might wake them. The glow of the setting sun leaked in through the window casting an eerie shadow on their abandoned toys. Glimmers of boyhood smiled back at her as she paced around the room taking in every last memory. She could feel them there with her. Their spirit hung in the air engulfing her with intangible hope. She crept back out of the room and gently closed the door, leaving the room undisturbed. She needed Mikes arms wrapped around her to tell her it would be ok. She needed to feel his warmth. She needed to not be alone.

She mindlessly gravitated towards their bedroom where they had made their life. The stillness of the room gave her a false sense of serenity as pure exhaustion enveloped her frail mind. She dazedly strolled to the bathroom and grabbed Mike's pj's from the back of the door where they were helplessly hanging and quickly changed into them. His smell was still clinging to the fabric. There was no emotion left in her. No tear left to shed. No memory left to mourn. And no thought left to think. She curled up on his side of the bed and inhaled what was left of him, filling her lungs with his sweet musky smell. Sleep relentlessly took hold of her instantly and she sank into the abyss of her naive subconscious.

* * *

**Tuesday 9:30 pm**

Castle's head thwapped against the unforgiving floor and his eyes sprang open. Disorientation swept over him lagging his memory. There was an abnormal amount of pressure on his chest and a strange trickling of thick liquid seeping down his side. He slowly lifted his head and almost re-fainted from shock.

"Beckett!?"

Her name escaped his lips before it registered in his mind.

She didn't stir.

"Beckett, wake up!" He pleaded as he quickly assessed her injuries.

_How did she get over here? How long was I out? Is that…is that blood!? _He found the source of the bright red puddle that was forming on his shirt. She had a gash on the side of her head and was loosing a lot of blood. He delicately slid her off his chest, cradling her as he shifted her to the ground next to him so that he could bandage the gaping hole. Desperate to stop the bleeding, he ripped the bottom of his shirt and secured it tightly around her head to put pressure on the wound. He then gingerly set her broken arm on the ground deciding there was nothing more he could do for it. She looked so peaceful that he almost didn't want to disturb her. _She's not peaceful, you idiot, she is concussed!_ He softly attempted to wipe the blood from her face but just ended up smearing it deeper into her flawless skin like a tarnished work of art. Once again cradling her limp body, he tried to bring her back to consciousness.

"Kate, I need you to wake up. I know it hurts, but I need you here, so be the Kate Beckett I know and open your eyes."

Nothing.

"Beckett!"

His voice started to waver at the realization that this might be it. There might be nothing he can do. Kate Beckett was human. Her invincible superhero façade was nowhere to be found when she needed it most and there was nothing he could do to bring it back. As Castle started to drown in his own pool of doubt, Bekett's eyes twitched with a tease of life. Castles heart stopped in his chest pulling himself to the surface of his doubt with a reprieve of hope.

"Kate, you can do it. Come back to me. I'm right here."

His face was inches from hers and he could feel her warm sporadic breath trace across his skin.

Still no movement.

"Dammit, Kate. Wake up!"

His arms clung tightly to her small but sturdy frame as if he could share some of his heartbeat with hers. Her eyelids stirred once again. Her deep hazel eyes finally glistened to the surface meeting Castle's concerned gaze.

"Morning," Kate groggily murmured as she took in her surroundings.

A fragment of a smile flashed across her face but before it could fully form, it was replaced with a sharp wince as all the pain flooded her system and pulled her full force back into reality. Castle saw the raw tenderness in her eyes and relaxed his grip fearing that he had somehow caused the pain.

"Castle, wha…what happened?"

"You passed out…on top me… you looked pretty comfy too."

His dismal attempt at humor successfully elected as much of an eye roll as Kate could manage.

"Yea, well, don't get used to it."

Kate's eyelids started to fail her once again.

"Hey, no falling asleep. You scared me last time."

"Back at ya."

They both caught the undertone of actual concern in each other's words and their eyes sincerely locked.

Kate snapped out of it first before her emotions could take control.

"So how do you propose we keep each other awake until help comes?"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways…"

A throaty chuckle burbled deep in Castles chest and Beckett saw a twinkle of humor softly dance in his icy eyes.

"Castle, I may not be in the best condition, but I still have a gun."

His grin widened, erasing the marred dishevelment that clung to the surface of his features.

"You certainly know how to sweet talk a man, Detective Beckett."

A smile traced her blood-spattered face. Throwing an effortless punch in his direction, her hand ended up landing in his instead of crashing against his chest as she had intended. Before she could pull it back, Castle gently latched his fingers around hers as if holding her hand was the natural thing to do. They lay facing each other and Kate's head was gingerly resting on Rick's free arm that he had offered up as a pillow when he was trying to wake her.

"Kate"

The sound of her first name embraced by his sultry voice brought unwelcomed butterflies to her stomach. Out of instinct, she wanted to pull her hand back but the subtle comfort of his touch was just too much to let go of.

Castle hesitated before finishing his thought and she couldn't read the swarm of emotions that collided on his face. Not sure she was ready to hear whatever it was he was struggling to say she decided to distract him.

"Why don't you tell me a story, Castle?"

Success.

Another chuckle escaped him as he internally recounted some of his more scandalous endeavors.

"A story, eh? I was thinking more along the lines of truth or dare, but I guess a story will suffice."

Kate was struggling to stay awake and find words so she slightly squeezed his hand encouraging him to go on.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I got the cops called on me for going outside in my boxers to tell some punks to turn down their radio?"

A jolt of life sprang through her as his words pulled her to the surface once again.

"No. I think I would remember that one."

No further coaxing was necessary. Castle immediately jumped into his memory and recounted every last meticulous detail in true novelist form while Kate hung on his every word. Ashes of their shared haven smoldered around them while they lost themselves in each other struggling to stay awake; alive. And there they remained, floating in each other's hopes and muted fears helplessly waiting to be rescued.

* * *

**Thank you for all the reviews and notifications. Any bit of honest constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. Hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it! **


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